Clothes wringer



H. W. HENFIEBERG.

CLOTHES WRINGER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.28. 1919.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

H. W. HENNEBERG.

CLOTHES WRINGER.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.28, 1919.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Dec. 5, 1922..

TED STATES- HENRY w. HENNEB-ERG, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLOTHES WRINGER.

Application filed August 28, 1919. Serial No. 320,337.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. HENNE7 BERG, citizen 'of the United States, residing atChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes Wringers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of themvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in clothes wringers and particularly power actuated clothes wringers, and has for its object to provide means for readily and instantaneously effecting separation of the wringer rolls and throwing the gears transmitting power from one roll to the other out of mesh with each other in the event that the operator has his or her fingers caught between the rolls in feeding the wringer.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the spring or springs exerting a pressure whereby one of the rolls is forced toward the other thereof, is utilized as the means for effecting instant separation of the rolls in the event aforesaid.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts herelnafter fully f described and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a suitable embodiment of the invention;

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a wringer constructed in accordance with the invention, a part thereof 'being broken away.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail plan section thereof on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section of the same on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical section on \the line 55 of Figure 2. z

The clothes wringer, which may be of any of the standard types generally used in the household, consists of a frame comprising the side rails 1 equipped at their lower ends with means for "engaging the same with the rim of a wash-tub, or other suitable support, and which ar'eyconnected together by means of cross pieces 2, 3 and 4 at c011- venient intervals.

Rigidly mounted in the lower end portion -of the side rails are the bearings 5 for the shaft 6 of the driven roll 7, the latter being geared to the companion roll 8 by means of mesh spur gears 9 and 10 in a well known manner. The shaft 11 of the companion roll is journaled in bearings 12 in the side rails 1 and said bearings are vertically movable in suitable guides in said side rails. In.the

instance illustrated, two helical compression.

springs 13, which are associated with the thumb screws 4 in a well known manner, bear upon the bearings 12 to maintain the roll 8 pressed against the roll 7 and the gears 9 and 10 in mesh with each other. It will be obvious, ofcourse, that the exact character and number of the springs used are wholly immaterial and vary in different wringers to. which the present invention is ap licable.

ccording to my invention the side rails 1 are transversely cut substantially midway between their upper and lower ends, and

more particularly between the axes of rotation of the rolls 7 and 8, the said respective parts of said side rails being connected together by means of hinges 15, the pivots of which preferably project considerably rearwardly of the rear faces of said side rails whereby, when the respective parts turn on said hinge pivots as a center, the separation of the rolls become greater and sufficient to instantly relieve any pressure on 'fingers caught between the rolls. The upper leaf of each .of the hinges is preferably provided with a horizontal flange shown in Figure 5, which constitutes a stop for the bearing of the shaft of the roll 8 when the frame parts are separated, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2, and the springs engaging the bearings of said roller force them inwardly and against said flanges. Pivoted to the forward ends of the upper leaves of the hinges 15 are the two arms 16 of an inverted U-shaped lever, the 'said pivotal connections being made between the ends and adjacent the lowdecreased toward the mouth of the recess so that the tension exerted on said arms will tend to maintain the pin 18 more firmly engaged in said recess. The upper or middle portion of the U-shaped lever is preferably disposed. at an elevation slightly above the upper cross piece 2 to allow suflicient free space to cause said lever to turn freely and rapidly through a ve short are upon recelving a blowcfrom t e hand for the purpose of releasing the rollers 7 and 8 from engagementwith each other and throwing the gears 9 and 10 out of mesh. The rigidity of the'inverted lever 16 is such that a blow administered upon any part thereof above its pivotal connections with the hinges 15 will serve to throw the arms 16 simultaneously out of engagement with the pins 18.

In operation it is customary for the person operating the wringer to feed the same generally with one hand disposed to guide clothes to the wringer rolls and the other thereof further away from the same to spread the clothes to prevent bunching thereof in the rolls and to prevent buttons from becoming transversely disposed to the direction of motion of the clothes. Thus the danger of the hand being caught in the wringer is usually limited to that hand which is normally disposed in close proximity to the wringer rolls thus leaving one hand free. In the event that the fingers of one hand should become caught between wringer rolls the operator may instantly administer a blow with the other hand to any part of the releasing lever whereupon pressure exerted by the springs 13 will cause the frame to open, as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 thus instantly separating the rolls 7 and 8 from each other and throwing the spur gears 9 and 10 out of mesh.

When it is desired to again position the wringer parts, as shown in full lines in Figures 1 and 2 it is necessary for the operator to first manipulate the thumb screws 14 to release the pressure on the springs 13 and bearings of the roll 8 and then return the upper part of the frame to its normal position, and to thereupon manipulate the thumb screws to cause the springs 13 to bear upon the bearings of the roll 8 with any desired degree of ressure.

While have illustrated a suitable embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings, it will be obvious, of course, that such embodiment may be changed and varied in details of constructions to adapt the device to various types and sizes of wringers, and to accomplish the desired results without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A clothes wringer comprising a frame consisting of a part adapted for rigid support and carrying a driven wringer roll, and

mamas said parts hinged together, the sprlng pressure tending to separate the two parts and to place them in an angularly disposed relation to each other, latch elements rigid with and disposed at opposite sides of the first mentioned part of the frame, a U- shaped lever pivotally secured between the ends of its arms to the other part of the frame and provided at the free ends of its arms with means for engaging said latch elements to hold said frame parts in vertical alignment and said spring pressed roll bearing upon the driven roll, the middle part of said forked lever disposed above the elevation of the uppermost of said rolls and at the receiving side of the wringer frame and adapted, when moved toward the wringer frame to release the latch elements.

2. A clothes wringer comprising a frame consisting of a. part adapted for rigid support and carrying a wringer roll, and a part carrying a spring pressed wringer roll, said parts being hinged together, the spring pressure tending to separate the two parts and to place them in an angularly disposed relation to each other, keepers rigid with and disposed at opposite sides of the first mentioned part of the frame, latches pivotally secured to the movable part-of the frame and engageable with said keepers for holding said frame parts in vertical alignmentand said spring pressed roll bearing upon the other roll, an actuating element connected with said latches and extending above the uppermost roll at the receiving side of the wringer and adapted, when moved toward the wringer, to release the latches from said keepers.

3. A clothes wringer comprising a frame consisting of a part adapted for rigid support and carrying a wringer roll, and a part carrying a spring pressed wringer roll, said parts being hinged together, the spring pressure tending to separate the two parts and to place them in an angularly disposed relation to each other, keepers rigid with and disposed at opposite sides of the first mentioned part of the frame, latches pivotally secured to the movable part of the frame and engageable with said keepers for holding said frame parts in vertical alignment and said spring pressed roll bearing upon the other roll, an actuating element connected with said latches and extending above the uppermost roll of the wringer and adapted to be swung in avertical plane to release the latches.

HENRY W. HENNEBERG. 

